The accompanying View shows a portion of those ancient fortifications within which the town of Southampton was originally enclosed. The walls are in many places quite demolished; but in others they still present a venerable, though dilapidated appearance, with the remains of several towers at regular intervals, after the manner of fortified cities. The circuit of the walls is computed at nearly two miles. With regard to the precise date at which the walls were erected, there is no certain record. The north, east, and south walls bear every mark of uniform regularity in their structure: the gates of the town are apparently of the same date with the walls, and much resemble each other in the massy, flat form of their pointed arches, which rise at an angle from their piers, being struck from centres below the level of their spring—a mode of construction chiefly used in the reign of Edward the First. Yet the remains of semicircular towers, still visible on the Bargate, and which flanked its round arch, very much resembling the towers on the north and east walls, lead us to suspect that the wall, on the land side at least, is of higher antiquity than the time of the Edwards, and that the present gates were built later than the wall. The very singular position of the Water-gate, which retires thirty feet behind the eastern part of the south wall, and the awkward position of the South-gate, at the very angle of the wall, seem to indicate that these gates were not parts of the original design. From the south-west angle of the wall, quite to the Bridle-gate, which was close to the vallum of the Castle, the whole wall is a mass of irregular and almost inexplicable construction. It is conjectured that the side of the town, protected as it was by the Castle, and covered by the sea, was not at all, or but very slightly fortified, until the fatal experience of the sack of the town by the French proved that some further defence was necessary. The line of the town wall, south of the West-gate, is irregular in its construction; and the wall between the West and Bridle-gates bears evident marks of having been built in the most hasty manner, and with the greatest economy of materials. This wall, in its present form, Sir Henry Englefield supposes to have been built about the period when, according to the old historians, Richard the Second fortified the town, and built, or probably repaired and strengthened, the Castle, for it had evidently been built several centuries before his reign.

At the accession of Henry the Eighth, the port of Southampton was much frequented by foreign merchant vessels, particularly those of Venice, which traded largely in wool and tin. But the exportation of wool being prohibited by the legislature, the Levant merchants gradually resorted to other ports, and, now deserted by her commercial friends, Southampton found her resources greatly impoverished. About the commencement of the last century, however, the tide flowed once more in her favour, and, continuing to increase, has at length placed her in a position of unprecedented prosperity. But to this happy result the erecting of new docks, an improved harbour, and, above all, communication with London by railway, have mainly contributed. The terminus to the latter, begun and completed in 1839, is a very pleasing piece of Italian composition, with a projecting rusticated arcade of five arches below, and the same number of pedimental windows to the upper floor. The faÇade, nearly seventy feet in length, is considerably extended in its lower part by screen-walls, which take a sweep from the building.

The principal trade of Southampton is with Portugal and the Baltic, and with the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Hemp, iron, and tallow are imported from Russia; tar and pitch from Sweden; and from Portugal, wine and fruit.

The environs of Southampton are particularly interesting and agreeable—enlivened with elegant seats, romantic ruins, picturesque villages, and much beautiful scenery, which never fail to attract a great confluence of visitors during the fine season. Among these Netley Abbey is the grand attraction. The town itself is rich in vestiges of antiquity; and, in its modern character, presents all the agrÉmens to be met with in our most fashionable watering-places.